Life's a Stitch

(March 5, 2026)

We checked out of the Country Lodge early enough to fit in another visit to the Tanzanite Experience gallery. Again, I didn’t buy anything, but our group did the stop justice with their purchases of tanzanite earrings, t-shirts, carved wooden animals and table runners. I was taken with the metal garden sculptures, but there was no way they were fitting into the suitcase.

I particularly liked a warthog, but they were sold out of the small ones.

In the parking lot we watched the Weaver birds flitting about their hanging nests. It was interesting to see them entering and exiting through the bottom of the nests.

90 minutes later we arrived at Tarangire National Park in northern Tanzania.

The park is known as an elephant paradise with herds up to 300.

After nine days in nature, we were surprised to see new animals and different vegetation. There were huge termite mounds:

and giant Baobob Trees, some 1000 years old:

We were greeted by a mama and baby waterbuck with their heart shaped noses:

followed by large warthogs:

The landscape was beautiful.

Besides the Baobobs, there were palms and we were introduced to the Sausage Trees:

They are known for large sausage-shaped fruit, which can reach up to 2 feet long and weigh over 15 lbs. Although the raw fruit is poisonous to people, they are a food source for baboons and monkeys. The large cats use them for shade.

We saw Dwarf Mongoose for the first time.

Where there are mongoose there are generally snakes, and we were fortunate to see none, although the parks we toured are home to deadly Black Mamba, Puff Adders, Pythons, Black Necked Spitting Cobra and many harmless varieties.

We drove over the Tarangire River, a reliable water source that attracts a quarter million animals during the dry season. This was the wetter season, bordering on the start of the long rains in March, and there was no shortage of animal sightings.

To be continued…